We know how that
turned out and so do the citizens of Syria and so do, importantly,
other thugs, autocrats, and dictators around the world--red lines
crossed but not enforced. President Obama's threats went unanswered. Russia became bolder in
its support of Assad as it became clearer that the United States would
not intervene. Now, in light of years of inaction by the previous
administration, we have a refugee crisis in the Middle East and
throughout Europe. Millions of people have been displaced both
internally and externally across Europe. We have a war criminal leading
the Syrian Government who has repeatedly used chemical weapons and
indiscriminately killed civilians, including children, in a region even
further from any measure of stability than when President Obama took
office.